Easier to Lie
by JJLiberty
Summary: Sirius has had his eye on Remus ever since Damocles Belby entered the picture, but swears it's for purely platonic reasons. Damocles is convinced his love for Remus will be enough to outmatch Sirius' suppressed infatuation. Remus is falling for Damocles but can't accept that in the end he may love Sirius more. Sometimes it's just easier to lie. SB/RL/OC
1. 1:1

Easier to Lie

Part One

Chapter 1

"_Nothing is more capable of troubling our reason, and consuming our health, than secret notions of jealousy in solitude."_

_-Aphra Behn_

Sirius didn't like this. He didn't like this at all.

How could one bloke spend so much time studying in the damn library? Granted seventh years had to study for the Newts and all but that was almost 3 months away. No, Sirius knew the real reason Remus Lupin had taken up residence in the library's endless catacombs. And it… or more correctly _he_ went by the name of Damocles Belby.

This whole debauchery started as a result of this stupid Defense Against the Dark Arts project that all the seventh years were assigned towards the end of the year.

Apparently Professor Diddleman thought it would be a great idea to make them do team research projects on advanced dark creatures and present them one by one to the class. He saw it as a creative way to review for the coming NEWTs. Sirius saw it a way to send someone into a comatose. In all honesty, he rather fancied the thought of researching a dark creature….

Of course he'd never admit to that.

He would have rather done it on his own. Having it be obligatory, just took the excitement out of it. The real problem was that Diddleman had also decided to pair off each student with someone from the opposite House. In this case the Gryffindors got paired with the Ravenclaws.

It wasn't that Sirius didn't like being paired with a Ravenclaw, hell he'd take a know-it-all Ravenclaw over a pig-headed Slytherin any day, but it meant that he wasn't paired with one of the Marauders. And that meant that they could get less done. Not class work, mind you, but pranks and the like. It ultimately meant less quality time with his best friends.

It was their last year at Hogwarts. They should have been partying, pranking and perfecting the art of womanizing, not doing this… this soul sucking project! On top of all that Sirius got stuck with Ravenclaw's resident space-case. No actually, "space-case" would be the understatement of the century. Xenophilius Lovegood absolutely off his rocker…it's amazing they got anything from this project accomplished at all.

Seriously, they were assigned to research the Quintaped and all the guy seemed to care about was fact that Professor Diddleman didn't give them the option of studying the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. What the hell that was, Sirius hadn't the slightest clue!

Remus, who was usually so composed and reserved, spit out his drink at lunch a couple weeks ago when Sirius finally gave up trying to figure it out and asked _him_ what the hell it was! Sirius hadn't failed to notice the mix between pity and mirth in Remus's eyes.

Mostly these feelings of frustration were brought on by the fact that Sirius got stuck with the most incompetent bloke in Hogwarts, next to Snivellus of course. But Sirius knew it also had something to do who Remus got paired with. The lucky prat got to do his project with Ravenclaw's top student, Damocles Belby. For Merlin's sake the kid was a genius compared to Sirius's partner and he was once a leading contender to be the current Head Boy.

Thank goodness James snatched that title, because at this point Sirius didn't think he could stand the thought of Belby leading the school with his clean-cut, goody-goody ways.

Sirius always knew that Remus was going to be corrupted by Damocles, it was only a matter of time. And now that they were a month into their projects, Sirius was starting to see signs of it. They were getting way to chummy for Sirius' liking. With all due respect, Remus was _Sirius'_ friend, not Damocles'.

So why was it that Remus had decided to spend so much of his spare time hanging out with Damocles instead of spending it with the Marauders? He even gave the bloke a nickname. A stupid nickname at that. Nicknames were the Marauder's thing, it was just their _thing_, you know? And now this… this twat got the honour of being nicknamed?

Belby didn't even know the difference between a dung bomb and an ever bashing boomerang. Yet Remus had spent almost every day in the library with that boy, doing Merlin knows what! Well, Remus told him that it was "the project", but come on no one's really going to waste time on that crap when there's so many master-mind plans to be executed before they all graduate! Sirius needed to know what was so amazingly special about this guy that Remus Lupin would neglect his duties as a Marauder.

And that was why Sirius was brooding behind a book case in the back of the library. He probably would have looked ridiculous if he hadn't been completely hidden by James' invisibility cloak. Too bad it didn't keep out the dust or the nasty smell of old books, which by the way Sirius was pretty allergic to.

Holding back another sneeze Sirius leaned in to listen to the conversation that was continuing from a table not too far away.

"No seriously, Remus! They practically closed down half the street trying to get all the fireworks under control!" A smiling Belby came into Sirius's view, chuckling slightly at the story he was telling.

Remus looked up from a huge, yellow paged book and smiled back amusedly. "Were they muggle fireworks?"

"No way. Whoever it was that set them off used Grade-A wizarding fireworks. The good stuff. You know now that I come to think of it, they might have even had those built in charms that prolong the sparks to the point where a simple _finite_ _incantatum_ won't even extinguish them." His slight Irish lilt was starting to come through in his rush to explain such a quizzical observation. Personally, Sirius found it quite annoying, almost as a annoying as listening to the mind numbingly intellectual conversation that was about to ensue.

"Do you mean a variation of the _accendio_ _eduro_ charm?" Remus asked, looking at Damocles intently as he leaned back in his chair. Sirius recognized that face. He had seen it too many times when the Marauders were solving some difficult hang up in one of their pranks or when there was some glitch in the Marauder's map. That was Remus's puzzle solving face. Sirius could almost see the gears turning in the back of his friend's head. Some things never changed.

"That could be it, but I thought a lot about it and I actually think that they may have applied the Inverse Spell Theorem."

"Really? I would think that kind of magic would be much too complex to try out on some simple fireworks."

"Well it's not as difficult as it looks really. I believe that's how companies were able to create the kind of fireworks that light underwater. Basically the light is not sustaining itself through a charm, but in fact… and here's the genius of it I think…. the light is sort of repelling the elements that might snuff it out. It may take a little more finesse to pull off, but when you compare it to a simple _accendio_ _eduro_ charm… well the light just plain lasts longer!"

"I have to admit that that is some pretty impressive charm mechanics, that is if, they actually used it. I wish I had been there to see it all take place, must have been quite a wild sight." Remus leaned forward and continued teasingly, "Are you sure you don't want to go into the field of charm theory and development? Because I think you've just proven to me that you could give all those wizards who do it a run for their money."

Damocles laughed good naturedly and replied, "Remus I've told you already that I'm interested in Potions, but I'll probably end up doing some theory and developmental work in the process anyway." After receiving an exasperated look from Remus, Damocles swiftly changed subjects. They had most likely already had this discussion before and, by Sirius's judgement, it probably ended with Remus telling Damocles how successful he would be in any field he joined after Hogwarts.

The thought made Sirius want to gag.

"But never mind that! You should definitely come to Hogsmeade with me and some of the blokes. Maybe there will be some more fireworks and if not, maybe we could set off some of our own."

Both boys laughed at the thought and Remus swiftly replied after a moment, "Well I don't know if my friends would allow me to engage in pyrotechnics without letting them in on it first, seeing as they have a proud reputation of setting things on fire and all…" This comment caused the boys to laugh a bit more.

Quite frankly, it wasn't that bad in Sirius's opinion. The Marauders had only committed arson two times within Hogwarts walls…well that was if you only count the fires that they got caught starting. But still.

"No but I'm serious, Remus."

"About what, Dom?"

There was that stupid nickname. How unoriginal. Then again it beat the name Damocles. What kind of mother names a kid that? Sirius laughed a little and in the process, snuffed up a whole lot of dust, which in turn made him struggle not to sneeze and cough in a horrendous fashion.

"About the invitation to Hogsmeade, you're always welcome to join me. I mean, I would think by now we've become more than just project associates and study partners." Damocles raised a blonde eyebrow and managed a quirky smile.

Remus smiled back and responded appreciatively, "Well then I certainly can't see why not. Buuut… you might have to bribe me with some Honeydukes chocolate first."

"I'm not objecting, but may I ask why exactly am I bribing you with sweets?"

"Because I got this." Remus's long, scarred fingers slid a slender, black book across the table. The corners of the cover were worn down and dog-eared but the title was still recognizable.

"You found Nocturnal Beasts and Other Dark Magical Creatures? But…but I scoured the library looking for it. I even owled my father to see if he had procured it in his travels. How did you find this Remus? I was so sure it didn't exist anymore!" Dom flipped through the book with almost unbridled zeal.

"Well," Remus said with an amused look on his face, "Maybe you just didn't look in the right places."

"What do you mean? Remus you know I searched high and low. Where could I have possibly missed?" He raised his head to finally look up at the tawny haired boy across from him, admiration written clearly on his slightly freckled face.

Remus lowered his voice and replied mockingly, "Maybe somewhere that is usually restricted to students? Does that ring a bell for you Mr. Belby?" Sirius cringed at that horrible pun. It was almost as bad as the one's people made for his name.

Dom's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Are you saying that you got permission from Diddleman to use the Restricted Section?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Because I thought he wasn't giving out those passes for this project… I guess he finally came to his senses. I mean how are we supposed to study the werewolf in depth if he only gives us access to the remedial books that could have been written by a third year?" Sirius tensed up at this.

He had forgotten that his werewolf friend had been assigned to the only dark creature he didn't need research on. But no matter how risky or unnerving the whole project was for Remus, he still managed to show nothing to his partner Belby. Sirius could only hope that for whatever brains Damocles claimed to have, it wouldn't be enough to detect the real live werewolf sitting across from him.

"Yeah well hopefully this provides more clarity to some of the points we've been struggling on. Though, I did look through it briefly and didn't find all too much. Maybe you can read it more in depth tonight and tomorrow then we can meet up again Sunday or Monday to compare notes?"

"That sounds like a good plan," Damocles stood up and started to gather some of the parchments scattered about the table. He was obviously taking his time, because he did it slowly. Remus stood up in the meantime and started carry a pile of books to an adjacent book case.

Damocles quickly jumped in to help, "Here Remus let me take some of those, that is…only if you're still not feeling well. Don't want to push it, eh?"

"Yeah thanks. Those ones go on the top shelf, and I probably wouldn't be able to reach it anyways." It was true to say the least, that Remus was quite bit shorter then Damocles. Almost five inches shorter in fact.

Of course Sirius only knew this bit of knowledge because Damocles and him were relatively the same height and Remus came to about eye level on him. Forunately that was about where the similarities between him and Dom stopped. For one, Dom's golden blonde hair was a bit wavy and worn quite short.

Sirius on the other hand always prided himself on his silky ebony locks that fell just to about his chin and framed his face with the utmost precision. While Dom's eyes were a bluish green, Sirius's eyes were an electric grey, and many had told him that on occasion were almost silver in appearance.

They were both built, but where Dom was brawny and muscular, Sirius was more sinewy and toned. The differences of course didn't stop at the physical, no, Sirius would venture to say that they both had very differing "world-views". While Sirius was a free loving, havoc wreaking, firecracker, Damocles was more similar to a…well a know-it-all prat who was always too saintly for his own damn good.

An audible crash brought suddenly Sirius out of his reverie. He was surprised that it didn't bring along the crabby, old librarian Madam Pince. Sirius turned to survey what happened and was met with a very awkward sight. It seemed that while putting away some books on the top shelf, Damocles had tripped on a pile of books below and consequently went tumbling down.

Of course to make matters worse Remus was pinned underneath the larger man. And then to make the situation even more awkward, neither one had moved from their positions on the floor, probably, Sirius ventured to guess, still in shock with what had just happened.

Damocles was the first to speak, "That was close, eh?"

"Still is," Remus replied under his breath.

"Oh," Dom laughed, "Sorry Remus, you alright?"

Remus weakly chuckled back, "Yeah just a little breathless."

"I seem to have that effect on people." Dom responded with an amused look.

Remus just rolled his eyes, "Ugh, Dom don't say things like that, you're starting to sound like Sirius!" At this, Sirius perked up. Is that what Remus really thought of him? He wasn't that cocky, right?

"You know I'm only kidding with you." Damocles picked up some of the fallen books and started putting them back on the top shelf, careful this time not to fall. Remus also returned to putting books away, both boys worked in amiable silence. When they had finished, Damocles spoke up again, "So we're still on for Hogsmeade this weekend, right? Granted you didn't break any bones when I fell on you."

Remus smiled a bit at the joke "No… I mean yes about Hogsmeade, no about the broken bones."

Dom quirked an eyebrow teasingly.

Remus carried on quickly, trying to make up for his confusing answer, "Where exactly should I meet you all?"

"Er…I think outside the Great Hall will be the easiest. I'll keep an eye out for you, but I don't think you'll have any trouble finding us." Although he said it nonchalantly, both Sirius and Remus knew this statement to be annoyingly true. Damocles, on top of being one of the smartest wizards at Hogwarts, was also one of the most popular and always surrounded by friends.

Sirius could only wonder why the taller boy had spent so much one on one time with someone like Remus. Though Remus was popular by default, being best friends with James and Sirius kind of helped, that didn't explain why Damocles had just invited him to Hogsmeade after only knowing him a month and a half. It was just that Remus was so introverted compared to the outgoing nature of Damocles.

Maybe, Sirius figured, their love for books and research went far deeper than he had initially thought. Granted, James and Sirius may not have been very fond for books, but they were popular and extroverted, just like Dom. In fact they were ten times more so than Damocles. So what then could Remus possibly see in this bloke? Whatever it was, it absolutely rubbed Sirius the wrong way. Something was going on that he just wasn't seeing. There had to be.

"I guess that works. See you then?" Remus replied cheerfully.

"Yep, see you Saturday morning!…Oh wait," Damocles checked his watch, and with that pause in the conversation, so did Sirius. It was a good 15 minutes past curfew. "It's really late. Are you sure you don't want me to walk you back up to your dorms? I can bet your friends are probably wondering where you are. I would like them to note for the record that I got you back safe and relatively unharmed." They both chuckled a bit at this statement.

"I would like that, but I still have notes to gather up. Plus it's probably past curfew, and even though we're both prefects I think that we should try to stick to it as best we can." Remus ended his suggestion with an apologetic smile.

Damocles' hand went up to rest on his neck as he replied, "Ah I guess that's true…Well have a good night, Remus."

"You too Damocles." With that Dom headed off down the aisle and disappeared behind a row of shelves. A second later, Sirius's attention was pulled to his best friend who let out a sigh of exhaustion. That's when he realized that Remus was holding his left forearm which Sirius knew he had injured during the last full moon.

Remus must have re-injured it when Belby fell on him and yet Remus didn't say anything to the taller boy about it. Then again trying to explain that kind of injury to someone who didn't know about Remus's "furry little problem" might raise suspicions. Despite this set back, Remus had managed to pack up and was already heading out the library doors.

Although he was under the cover of James's cloak, Sirius followed at a distance, knowing that if he wasn't cautious he might trigger Remus's uncanny senses. Instead of taking a left like Sirius had suspected, Remus decided to take a right. For a second this puzzled Sirius, but eventually he reasoned that Remus was making a quick detour to the Hospital Wing before he returned to the Common Room.

This gave Sirius the opportunity to get back to the dorms before Remus noticed he was gone. The other Marauder's already thought he was on a late night escapade with one of his lady friends, so they were most likely already asleep.


	2. 1:2

Easier to Lie

Part 1

Chapter 2

"_How much has to be explored and discarded before reaching the naked flesh of feeling." _

_-Claude Debussy_

When Sirius got back to the Boys' Dorms, he silently slipped into his night clothes and hopped in bed. He waited a few moments looking for any signs of the others being awoken by these movements. The only sound that came to Sirius's attention was Peter's ridiculous snoring. He didn't know how the other two boys could sleep through this, but Sirius guessed they were all just used to it after so many years of living in a dorm together. 

Just as he finished this thought, the door to the dormitory creaked open and Remus's familiar figure made its way across the room. Sirius watched his silhouetted movements carefully, to see if the injury from earlier had been healed. Either way, Sirius reckoned no one would be able to tell because, even when no one was watching Remus, he always maintained his composure and grace.

It was weird to say that a boy could have grace, but this wasn't just any boy. This was Remus, a bloke that had to live in constant fear of revealing an uncontrollable beast that reared it's self at unpredictable moments. Remus was, and always would be, a walking contradiction. Full of grace and full of fear. 

Sirius always felt as though they shared a special bond because of this. The friendship between Remus and Sirius was not like the one he shared with his other best friend, James. James didn't know what it was like to be an outsider, nor did he know what it was like to constantly have to prove to people that he could be trusted, that he was not evil like people would so quickly deduce. 

Remus understood, more than anybody, what Sirius faced on a day to day basis. Sirius liked to think that he understood, at least on a simpler level, what Remus had to go through. It was for these reasons that Sirius could also let down his guard in front of Remus, but when it came to James and Peter he couldn't ever show weakness. 

Remus didn't judge, because… well… he knew what it was like to be judged. Sirius guessed that he was a walking contradiction also. He fed off of being the center of attention, impressing people, shocking people, charming people, seducing people, anything really to blind people from the turmoil he was dealing with on the inside. 

Most of the time it worked. Except when it came to Remus. The boy could always see right through his façade and sometimes it felt good that someone cared enough to break through. Other times he had to avoid Remus because well…it was just easier to avoid facing those feelings, all bare and out there to be examined like a man on the surgeon's table.

Even as Sirius thought all this, he knew that neither had the other figured out, no matter how close they had become, no matter how deep they thought their trust went. That hadn't stopped Sirius from spending every waking moment in these past few years trying desperately to understand his enigmatic friend. 

Although he'd never admit it to anybody, Remus had always held a soft spot in Sirius's heart. Most of it had to do with appreciation for the other boy and the emotional struggles they shared. But a secret part of him was intrigued by the emotions that Remus had always brought out in him. Real emotions…raw emotions…that scared him in a way. 

There was no grace needed, no fear. The freeness he felt around Remus like nothing else he had ever had and Remus in turn was like no one else he had ever known. Still... for the first time in his many years of knowing Remus, Sirius was absolutely terrified that the boy had discovered a greater bond than the one he shared with Sirius. It was a silly thing to suspect, but it had absolutely consumed Sirius's thoughts. 

Damocles, in less than a couple weeks, had single handedly replaced Sirius as Remus's number one confidant. Or so it seemed at the moment. Maybe he was just imagining things. All Sirius knew was that hell or high water, he had to find out the truth.

"Sirius are you awake?" Remus whispered, out of the darkness. This made Sirius jump a little in surprise, much to his own dismay. Remus had probably sensed his erratic breathing and realized that he was most likely awake.

Sirius probably could have feigned sleep or a nightmare, but the unexpected jump he had made in response to the other boys voice, immediately gave his cover away. This caused him to move to Plan B.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep." His voice came out more ragged than he had expected, which could have worked to his advantage. But in reality it was only because he hadn't spoken a word in over four hours, and that was because he had been watching Remus and Damocles. But he couldn't let on that this was the real reason, so he continued his response, "Just too many thoughts, you know?"

Remus remained silent for a beat, probably debating whether it was worth going further, before continuing, "Thoughts about what?"

Sirius shifted to his side, as though this movement would relieve the uncomfortable feeling that was growing in his chest, "Nothing." He responded quickly, and then effortlessly changed subjects. "Where have you been all night?"

"I got caught up studying with Damocles Belby, trying to finish that D.A.D.A. project. I guess I wasn't watching the time close enough and before you know it, it was a quarter past curfew." Remus replied honestly.

"Really? That still doesn't make up for the fact that you got back _this_ late." He was curious to know what Remus's answer would be.

"Oh yeah, I just stopped by the Infirmary for a pain killer potion." Remus answered nonchalantly. 

This excuse disappointed Sirius a bit, he had thought that Remus would trust him with his personal life by now. Apparently not. Then again would Sirius ever tell his friends the truth if a guy like Damocles fell on _him_. No, he figured the awkward explanation wouldn't be worth it. He really shouldn't be taking this so personally, after all it was just in Remus's nature to be secretive, right?

"You still hurting from your last transformation?" Sirius replied equally as casual, but still managing to be concerned.

"Yeah well you know how it is." 

The fact was…Sirius didn't know how it was. He hummed in response, hoping that it was ambiguous enough and then trailed off into a tense silence.

"Sirius?" Remus called out softly, his voice a little more tentative than usual.

"Yeah?" He answered, replying a bit more quickly than he would have liked. Was that because he was caught off guard by the break in silence, or was it because of the tone of voice Remus had used to address his name?

"What do you think of Damocles?"

This was the one question Sirius had not been prepared to answer. What was he supposed to tell Remus? 'Oh I've concluded that he's brainwashing you into becoming a rule abiding drone like himself?'

"I don't know…don't really know him that well. He's seems alright…maybe… if he wasn't such a stuck-up prat about the rules."

"Oh come on Sirius, just because some people follow the rules, which by the way are in place for a _reason_, does not give you the right to call them all stuck-up prats. He's a Prefect if you have forgotten."

"Yeah? Well so are you, Moony, and you break the rules all the time!"

"That's only because _you_ _guys_ drag me into it! And at least I can do it without getting caught, no thanks to you and Prongs. Plus you're just sour about Dom, because he caught you guys trying to set fire to Moaning Myrtles toilet."

Sirius mumbled under his breath, "Well it would have worked if it wasn't for that stupid goody-goody…" Remus probably heard that bit.

"Oy, I heard that. But seriously," Sirius raised an eyebrow at the overused pun though it was too dark for Remus to see the expression in the first place, "Ugh, don't give me that look Sirius….but seriously you need to get to know him better, you know? Put the past behind you and all that. I sure that's hard for you considering you've been holding grudges since the womb, but you got to cut him a little slack. Remember, you not the easiest person to get along with either. Think of how it makes him feel when you are always giving him the cold shoulder."

"I do not give him the cold shoulder! I just choose not to acknowledge his existence until he apologizes for selling us out!"

"Padfoot you know that's the same thing."

Sirius ignored this last remark and continued on his rant, "Plus I can't help it if he's a boring, know-it-all twat. Really what's so fun about researching in library 24/7? Not to mention his obsession with potions, he's almost as bad as Snivellus." Sirius scoffed critically.

"First of all _I'm_ the one researching with him in the library most days, so if you're calling him boring then you're calling me boring. Second of all, I bet you a million galleons that someday Damocles will make a potion that will trump whatever contribution _you _end up making to society. And thirdly, I should be allowed to have boring, know-it-all friends if I want to and you should be happy that I'm not dragging _you _to the library. So please, for all our sakes, stop being such a whiner."

"I am not whining!"

"Yes you are, you're whining right this second."

"No! And I don't think you're boring, at least when you're hanging out with us and doing things worthwhile!"

"Padfoot, you're idea of 'things worthwhile' is somewhere along the lines of setting off dungbombs and throwing surreptitious parties with gratuitous amounts of alcohol."

"Firstly Moony, you should know not to use big words with me. Secondly, you haven't been spending any time with the Marauder's since we all started this stupid D.A.D.A. project. The only time we ever get to see you is during the full moon. And you don't even remember those times!"

"Okay, okay point made. I promise to spend more time with you guys, you know I just get busy because of NEWT's and all. But you have to promise me that you'll cut Damocles some slack. He really does want to get to know you guys better."

"I'll try, I guess, but I'm not making any promises. If he even mentions one book or article around me, so help me Merlin, I will hex him and his stupid little potions experiments into the next century!"

"You talk about intellectual conversation like it's going to kill you. If I wasn't so sure, I would say that you're just threatened by Dom's eminent prowess." Remus replied challengingly, mocking Sirius through the darkness.

Sirius in turn feigned exaggerated shock, "Remus, I'm appalled that you think the Great Sirius Black would ever feel threatened by anything, let alone a wimpy little toe-rag like Damocles Belby. And as far as intellectual superiority, you know the Great Sirius exceeds all others, he just chooses not to be a smarty-pants who unconsciously rubs it in people's faces."

"I think you just contradicted yourself, Oh Great One."

"The Great One never contradicts himself! How dare you presume such a thing!"

"You're unbelievable, mate, I hope you know that…" Remus responded with an amused sigh.

"Yes, The Great One is many things Remus." He answered quickly, trying to sound cryptic, but failing miserably in the face of such a ridiculous conversation.

"Yeah and among other things He's a total nutter." Sirius promptly answered Remus's quip by flinging a pillow in his general direction. Remus of course caught the pillow, which made Sirius look all the more foolish.

When they both finished laughing and throwing subsequent pillows at each other, they fell into an agreeable silence. Both were lost in their own thoughts. Sirius thinking about how he was going to convince Remus not to go to Hogsmeade with Dom, even though he wasn't supposed to know about that….

"Sirius?" Remus's voice cut through his thoughts, making him jump for the second time that night. What was wrong with him?

He hesitated as though he was going to ask something important before answering, "Never mind, we should probably go to sleep now. I'll wake you up tomorrow so we can get down to breakfast early."

Sirius tried not to show the disappointment in his voice as he responded. What was he about to ask? "Yeah, that'll be good…" He paused as if waiting for Remus to cut in and start up the conversation again. But he remained silent. Sirius let out a defeated sigh, one which he hoped would just be interpreted as tiredness. "Well goodnight Rem."

Remus yawned quietly as he spoke, "Goodnight Pads."

The talk Sirius had with Remus actually seemed to have done more to complicate things rather than clarify them. This left Sirius to brood as he drifted off into an uneasy slumber. Now he had to figure out, not only what was going on with Remus and that bloke Damocles, but also figure out what was going on with _himself_. 

And that, was a challenge in itself. Usually Remus was the one to help sort out Sirius's emotional messes, but this time he had to try to do it alone. And Sirius at this moment didn't know if he had the capacity to dig that deep. Only time would tell.


	3. 1:3

Easier to Lie

Part 1

Chapter 3

"_Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you."_

_~ Roger Ebert_

"_The affections are like lightning: you cannot tell where they will strike till they have fallen." _

_~ Lee Iacocca _

By lunchtime the next day, Sirius still hadn't had the opportunity to mentioned plans for Hogsmeade, let alone convince Remus to ditch Dom that Saturday. He had meant to bring it up at breakfast, but he couldn't get to sleep the night before and his friends ended up letting him completely sleep through it.

Sirius barely made it to Potions and by that time Remus had paired up with that greasy git Snape. This left Sirius no choice but to talk to him after class, but then noticed that he had left his homework in the Gryffindor Tower and had to make a mad dash back to the dorms to get it.

Next he went straight to Divination which Remus didn't take because he had to be an overachiever and take Arithmancy instead. Leaving Sirius struggling to introduce the issue into the conversation at lunch. Just when Sirius thought things couldn't get more difficult for him, a low voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"Remus!" Damocles came to stand beside Remus, putting a hand on his shoulder. Sirius proceeded to glare at him with incredulity, as though he'd interrupted an important conversation.

"Dom, oh good I was hoping I'd find you before tomorrow." Remus replied casually.

"Do you want the book?"

"Do you have the book?"

This almost simultaneous response caused both boys to hesitate, waiting for the other to carry on. Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he witnessed the odd exchange. Damocles was the first to respond, quick to cover up any awkwardness that might actually make him seem human for once.

"Yeah, I guess I was in such a rush to beat curfew last night that I left without it. Sorry 'bout that." He finished off his explanation with a bashful smile.

Was this guy for real? Sirius rolled his eyes as Remus began searching through his bag for the book in question. While this was going on, Sirius decided to steal a glance at the blonde haired boy again. To his surprise, Sirius found Dom staring right back at him. Sirius, not about to show any weakness, gave the boy his very best sneer…one of the ones he usually reserved for his mother or a slimy amoeba like Snivellus.

Damocles in turn raised his eyebrows in surprise and then turned to Remus with a concerned look. He was about to say something when Remus emerged from his bag with the ancient black book in his hands.

Noticing the uncomfortable tension that had started to develop in his absence, Remus broke the silence hesitantly, "Here's the book you wanted Dom…"

Remus gave Sirius a quick warning look before he proceeded with the next part of his sentence, "_Sirius..._ you've met my friend Damocles before haven't you? He's my partner for D.A.D.A."

"How could I for_get_?" Sirius replied pointedly, wondering if either of them noticed the irony hidden in his voice.

This seemed to have unnerved Damocles even further, predictably evoking the response Sirius was hoping for. "Er…maybe I should go Remus. I have a lot of things to do and I'll have plenty of time to get to know your friends later. I'll let you know what I think of the book when I get a chance. See you tomorrow then?"

Remus let out an almost inaudible sigh. "Yeah, tomorrow then."

With one last curious glance at Sirius, Damocles walked away, resuming his position at the Ravenclaw table. Unfortunately for Sirius, the tension that had developed while Damocles had been present hadn't dissipated much in his absence.

"What the heck was that about Padfoot?" Remus replied sharply, his hushed voice barely concealing his anger.

Sirius dismissed this and decided to ask his own question, purposely trying to make his voice equally as harsh. "What's all this about seeing him Saturday? You got plans you're not telling us about Moony?"

Skillfully Remus brushed this question off, "That's not important right now Sirius. Remember you made a promise to me last night and you broke it!"

Sirius tried to ignore the twinge of regret that was growing in the pit of his stomach as he retorted with his own harsh truth, "Well so did _you _in case you've forgotten!"

This unexpected response confused Remus before he realized what Sirius was implying. His reply was softer than Sirius expected. "Pads, you got to realize that I had already promised Dom I'd go with him to Hogsmeade, even before I made that promise to you. You know I'll hang out with you soon, I really haven't broken my promise yet."

His voice became slightly harder as he turned the conversation back on Sirius, "But that still doesn't excuse the way you acted towards Damocles just then! You gave me you're word that you'd at least _try_ to be civil with him!"

"I _was_ trying believe it or not. I can't help it if I have such a natural aversion to pretentious snobs like him!" Sirius replied futilely.

"He is _not _pretentious Sirius, and why don't speak for yourself you berk!" Remus exclaimed, now not caring to hide his anger as he stomped out of the Great Hall. The sound of the large doors slamming shut made Sirius noticeably jump. He had never seen Remus so brassed off, well at least not in public.

Ugh, why did Remus always have to him feels so _guilty. _It's not like Sirius did anything wrong, really. He said he would _try_ to be more civil, but Sirius never _promised _it because obviously it just wouldn't work when he actually had to face Belby in person. Plus, Sirius had said that if Belby mentioned even one book in his presence that he would hex him without a second thought.

Too bad Sirius had neglected to do that when he had the chance. The only thing that kept him from _not_ hexing the blonde haired boy was that Remus would have flipped out on him. Then again Remus had become furious with Sirius without the added hexing.

No, you know what? Remus was probably just trying to make Sirius feel guilty because it would distract him from the fact that Remus had made Hogsmeade plans without the Marauders. Then again Sirius very well knew that Remus had made those plans before he made his promise to Sirius. So Remus was right in that respect, but still! Did the werewolf have to make such a scene about it?

That was definitely out of character for Sirius's reserved friend. Remus never liked calling attention to himself…but apparently defending Damocles was some exception to this fact. Sirius fists tightened at this realization. Remus must be becoming more attached to this bloke then Sirius had anticipated. Well, he'd see about that. Remus could guilt him all he wanted, but Sirius knew that if he didn't get rid of this Belby guy then Remus might choose him over the Marauders and that was just inexcusable!

In the few moments that it took Sirius to make these conclusions more people had begun to stare at him, curiously awaiting his reaction. Sirius looked up and locked eyes with Damocles who was, of course, surrounded by his friends at the Ravenclaw table. He looked like he was about to chase down Remus and find out what happened.

Well, Sirius wasn't going to let him have the chance to console Remus. That was Sirius's job because _Sirius _was Remus's _real _friend. Not this know-it-all twat. James, who had finally pulled himself away from his semi-decent conversation with the lovely Lily Evans, raised an eyebrow as if to ask "What the heck did you now Sirius?"

Sirius tried to ignore the guilty feeling this look brought on and quickly muttered that it was nothing. He pushed himself roughly out of his seat and strode swiftly out the doors. Once outside the Great Hall, Sirius debated whether he should pull out the map to find Remus. He quickly decided against this though as McGonagall rounded the corner of one of the corridors.

Guess he would have to figure out where Remus was the old fashion way. At first his intuition told him the Library, but he thought that there was probably a better chance Remus had gone outside. After all, it was a nice day out and plus Sirius wasn't setting foot back in that library if he could help it.

As soon as he burst through the huge oak doors Sirius was hit with rush of cold air, stinging his nose and making him unconsciously pull his robes closer to his body. Maybe it wasn't such a nice day to be outside after all… Nevertheless, he wouldn't waste time scanning the grounds, frankly there was no need to. There was only one place on Hogwarts grounds that Remus would go if he were alone: the large tree that marked its place next to the lake.

Sure enough Sirius spotted Remus sitting under the tree, stubbornly trying to ignore the relentless wind that had suddenly whipped up around him. Sirius walk briskly across the grounds, seizing his chance to take his lighter haired friend off guard.

"What do you want Sirius?" Remus asked roughly. The sudden exclamation stopped Sirius in his tracks. So much for taking Remus off guard, he guessed that was near impossible anymore.

Sirius was about to recite the argument he had been mentally preparing when he noticed something else that stopped him in his tracks. From where he was standing Sirius had a better angle at which to view Remus's face, though Remus was still not looking at Sirius. It seemed….well…he seemed… _fragile_. That was the only word Sirius could think to describe his werewolf friend.

His tawny hair, ridiculously windswept, was partially obscuring his deep amber eyes. They looked almost haunted in a way, something Sirius hadn't seen since the…well the Incident that they never spoke of anymore. His pale lips were turned downward and his brow creased in a way that made him seem too old for his age.

The other thing was that Remus was shaking…whether that was from the chilly weather or something else, Sirius really couldn't tell. This uncharacteristic image of Remus completely derailed any previous tirade that Sirius had been ready to blast at his slighter friend.

What scared Sirius even more so was that he didn't know _why_ this subtle observance had pulled on his emotions so unexpectedly. This unbelievable torrent of raw emotions had rendered him utterly speechless. This had never happened before, especially with Remus. So why now?

Sirius was jolted out of his reverie, when Remus unusually hoarse voice called out again, "Well, if you don't have anything to say, then I have a class to prepare for."

Still mute, Sirius watched Remus struggled against the wind to stand up and walk towards Hogwarts front doors. Then suddenly Sirius had the urge to help his fragile friend, give Remus his scarf or _something_. But quickly as it came Sirius shoved it away, not use to dealing with such empathetic sentiments because they made him feel uncomfortable. Soon after though this feeling was replaced with a fresh wave of guilt which wasn't much better.

While Sirius continued to wrestle with these unexpected emotions, Remus had finally made his way back inside the warm walls of Hogwarts.

Sirius swore quietly under his breath as he wretched himself from the ground he had so foolishly let himself get rooted to. He took his time walking back up to the school, trying to come up with another plan to deter Remus from his Hogsmeade trip with Damocles. Unfortunately, this wasn't an easy task considering how Sirius now had to compartmentalize a whole new set of emotions that he just did not want to sort through at the moment.

Eventually, Sirius gave up all together on his plan, deciding that he'd think more on it that night. Instead he focused on the next class he had, which he knew would prove to be quite a challenge. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts class of course, and that meant he had to see Belby again. No, even worse than that, he would have to see Remus with Belby.

For Merlin's sake, could this day get any worse?


	4. 1:4

Easier To Lie

Part 1

Chapter 4

"_Of my friends I am the only one left"_

_~Terence_

As usual, Sirius was late for class. It barely registered that Diddleman was taking ten points from Gryffindor for his tardiness. Sirius knew that he would earn it back just as quickly, that's the only way he and James could get away with their blasé attitudes, breaking the rules all the time. Oh, and of course everybody in the class had to stare at him as he walked in...well almost everybody. Remus hadn't bothered to turn around.

Sirius quickly scanned the faces as he went to take his seat. He immediately found James' concerned hazel eyes and shook his head slightly to signal that they would talk about it later. James knew what he meant of course and nothing more needed to be communicated between the two. That's what he loved about James. The communication was easy and to the point.

Why then was it so difficult for Sirius to communicate with Remus all of a sudden? Things would be so much easier if Remus just responded like James, unconditionally with no questions asked. Remus just didn't trust Sirius's judgment on Damocles. Wasn't it like... a rule that each of them should trust their fellow Marauder without question? Had Remus sacrificed that bond of brotherhood for some friendship with a bloke that he's known for less than two months? Sirius just didn't get it.

Continuing to scan the faces in the classroom, Sirius observed a couple of things, some interesting, others not so much.

There were, of course, the girls who were now shamelessly undressing him with their eyes. This was uninteresting, obviously. Admiration and infatuation from the female populace were simply a part of everyday life for Sirius. The only girl whose eyes weren't checking him out was Lily Evans, and that was because she chose to plaster her pretty face with a signature scowl specifically reserved for whenever Sirius was around.

Not surprisingly, Lily's eyes also showed the vehement disapproval she always had for him. They glared at him as if he had broken some rule or another and she just hadn't figured it out yet. This wasn't the worst of it though. In their time at Hogwarts, Lily had also concluded that Sirius was a total schmuck who would flirt with anything that resembled a pair of breasts. Sirius had to admit that these assumptions were at least partially true, but still...he had hoped that Lily would lighten up, seeing how she had finally started warming up to his best-mate, James.

Most of the guys just stared at him with begrudging looks. Also not surprising. They were obviously jealous of Sirius' effortless good looks and the sheer fact that he could get away with anything because he also had the brains to back them up. Uninterested in reading any of their faces though, Sirius resumed his scan of the Defense classroom.

Naturally, Sirius ended up saving the best for last, or the worst depending on how you looked at it. Remus' back, which was visibly tense, still faced Sirius direction. He felt a thread of guilt, and some other emotion he couldn't quite place, weave itself through his stomach. He mentally shoved these feelings aside, willing himself to think of something else other than the way Remus looked under that tree less than an hour ago. Luckily, these thoughts were quickly replaced with a deep set annoyance as Sirius's eyes finally fell on the face of Damocles Belby. The boy's blue-green eyes still held that look of concern from earlier, but this time his eyes also revealed something different.

He knew what was going on.

Sirius watched Damocles shake his head and whisper inaudibly to Remus who, unsurprisingly, had chosen to sit beside him today. Unfortunately, Sirius couldn't see Remus's reaction from where he was sitting, but did manage to see Belby place one hand comfortingly on Remus right shoulder. After that, Sirius had to look away, because, in all honesty, it should have been him comforting Remus not that Ravenclaw bloke. For the rest of the lesson, Sirius purposely avoided looking at that side of the classroom. Instead he chose to put all his focus into his notes on the Dark creatures students were presenting to the class. This was obviously uncharacteristic of Sirius, but he didn't care. Hopefully only James would notice and he already knew that Sirius would give him a full explanation later.

After a number of groups finished presenting their dark creatures, Professor Diddleman announced that class was almost over and that they all needed to pass in their essays on non-verbal defense charms. Sirius couldn't help but watch from the corner of his eye as Remus and Damocles passed in their essays and walked swiftly out the door. Looked like Sirius wasn't going to get a chance to talk to Remus any time soon. But that also meant that he was going to have to talk to James sooner, and this Sirius didn't think he could handle right now. What was he supposed to say? 'Oh yeah James, about that, well I've been stalking our friend Remus and that prat Damocles for the past couple weeks trying to figure out why Remus likes to hang out with him more than us. Oh and did I mention I turned into Helen Keller when I saw Remus sitting under a _tree_? Did I tell you how much Remus probably _hates_ me now? Yeah.'

Dreading the thought of having this conversation Sirius nearly ran right out of the classroom, not even caring to wait for James or Peter. Unfortunately his messy haired friend had the habit of being as quick as a bloody snitch when he wanted to be. Usually this was useful, like for Quidditch or escaping Filch's cat, but right now…it wasn't very helpful at all.

"Padfoot! Wait up!" James said as he finally caught up with Sirius, matching his quickening pace. "Why are you in such a rush mate? What happened between you and Remus? He looked mighty pissed when he walked into D.A.D.A."

"Look James I don't even know right now. Let's just talk about it later alright?"

"Is this about Moony making other plans for Hogsmeade?"

"Wait what? How do you know about that?"

"He told me this morning, wanted to let me know ahead of time what was going down this Saturday. Is that a problem?"

"_Is that a problem?_ I thought we were all in this together, James. Why did he tell you about this and not me?"

"Well you obviously are informed about it now, so what's the big deal?"

"Hah! I found out by _accident_ James. To me this is a matter of trust. If I hadn't found out about this change in plans then Remus would have never informed me to begin with. And you didn't answer my question Prongs. Why would Moony tell you about this without giving me the heads up too? It's stupid really."

"Maybe he didn't tell you because he knew you were going to react like this!" James retorted.

"React like _what_?!"

"Like..._this_, like you have a broomstick up your arse over a little change in plans. Seriously, just because Remus is a Marauder, doesn't mean he can't make plans separate from us. You need to relax a little Padfoot. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were a bit jealous about the whole thing."

Leave it to James to get right to the point. Sirius did _not_ have a stick up his arse and he definitely wasn't jealous of Remus, just offended. So, why then was it so difficult to answer his bespectacled friend?

"Look Sirius, all I know is that you should be happy Remus is making other friends besides us. Right now he needs all the connections he can get before he heads out into the real world. This will be good for him. Trust me. And plus you need to stop stressing him out like this. The full moon is in less than a week."

A soft but commanding voice interrupted their conversation. "James? Aren't you coming with me to work on that Potions project?"

Both boys whipped around to see the fiery redhead trying to match their quick stride. She still wore that familiar scowl, but now-a-days it was just directed at Sirius, not James. Nevertheless, Sirius was glad for the interruption.

"Black." She said briskly.

"Evans." Sirius replied condescendingly.

"I see you were late for class _again._ What was it this time? Couldn't figure out how to remove your head from your behind?"

"Ah quite the contrary, I was trying to figure out why in the world Dumbledore would let a Chimera date my best friend, let alone allow her to attend Hogwarts."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh that's so original, Black." The words were dripping with sarcasm.

"Hmm, I rather thought so too." Sirius replied cheekily. "I think I'm getting better at this..."

"You arrogant prat! Won't you ever learn how to treat a lady with respect?"

"Well now, I don't really consider you a lady...more as a banshee, especially right now. You see I'm starting to get this ringing in my ears from all the screaming taking place."

Luckily James interrupted the bantering before it got any worse.

"_Alright, _you two, that's enough. Sirius can you just shut your trap for a moment? I know you have your issues right now, but don't take it out on Lily. And Lily you probably should have ignored him to begin with."

Lily gave Sirius one last scowl before turning to James. Her whole presence immediately softened. Sirius on the other hand continued to stand rigidly, still in complete defense mode.

"Are you coming or not James?" Lily prompted.

"Yeah, of course." He replied in a softer tone than before. Sirius cringed inwardly at the sickening display of affection in front of him. Lily didn't even deserve James after all the grief she put him through over the years. Apparently falling in love with someone like Lily Evans came at a price. Why anyone, including James, would want to pay that price was beyond Sirius. This is why Sirius would never allow himself to fall in love. Too much misery and not enough pay back.

"Look Sirius, this conversation is not finished. We'll talk more about it later. In the mean time you should probably go find Remus and apologize before this gets more out of hand." Oh gosh, James was going into his Peacemaker mode. Lily must be having more of an influence on Prongs than Sirius had originally thought. "Don't give me that look Sirius, I want things cleared up by tomorrow., no excuses. We've got more important things to take care of remember?"

"Yeah, yeah alright. Whatever Prongs..." Apologize? Was James out of his mind? Sirius had nothing to apologize for!

By now James was slowly being pulled away by an impatient Evans. "Everything will be alright mate, don't get so worked up over nothing. I'll talk to you later tonight, yeh?"

"Mhm." Sirius mumbled as he turned away and started heading up the grand staircase. This had to be the longest week ever. Sirius really wished he could believe James when he said that everything would be alright, but Sirius had a feeling things were about to get a lot worse and James words just couldn't change that.

Sirius was so desperate to get his mind off of the day's events that he spent the rest of the evening actually doing his homework. This uncharacteristic choice earned quite a few stares from his fellow Gryffindors, but Sirius hardly noticed. Since James wasn't around, Peter had taken to joining him, but soon gave up on doing homework with him when Sirius wouldn't help him with any of it. Sirius knew he was being rude to his rat-like friend, but once again he didn't care enough to notice.

The only time Sirius ever broke his concentration was to spare a glance at the common room entrance. Every time he heard the door creaked open his head would shoot up and glare in the direction of the noise. In response, everybody else in the common room would whip around and curiously observe Sirius, not quite sure what to expect out of the dark-haired fellow. This happened several times throughout the evening, but it always turned up with disappointment. Eventually, people started clearing out of the common room, until the last person had gone off to bed.

This left Sirius completely alone. In the deafening silence, Sirius mind began to go over the day's events, something he had been trying to block out since he had left for Defense Against the Dark Arts class earlier that day.

Now Sirius wasn't one to project nervous habits, but as his head reeled over the complicated array of emotions from the past day he subconsciously began biting his ink stained nails. A weird rush of surprise and longing ripped through his core as he realized that this was the kind of behavior that Remus resorted to when he was feeling anxious. Wait…when had he become so in tune with Remus' nervous habits that he actually started _channeling_ them? At this rate, Sirius might be reading muggle books and musing over Keats poems by the Holidays.

Sirius involuntarily cringed at the image. Merlin! When had things gotten this way? Sirius should have been off gallivanting with ladies and planning pranks. Instead, here he was acting like a total sod, doing homework and waiting for his friends to come back from having social lives. How had things gotten so backwards all of a sudden? And when had Sirius started caring so much? Thinking so much…_feeling_ so much? This was completely ridiculous. Things shouldn't be this complicated, especially for Sirius Black. Maybe he was just so used to getting what he wanted that he didn't know how to function when things didn't go the way he expected them to.

Ugh…he needed to put a stop to this nonsense. If things got all out of whack when Sirius didn't get what he wanted, then he would need to fix it so he _did_ get what he wanted. And that started with convincing Remus to go to Hogsmeade with the Marauders. Yes, that was the only way Sirius could see things going back to normal.

Sirius was so wrapped up in these thoughts that he didn't hear the common room door swing open, nor did he see his best mate walk up behind him.

"Wait…is this for real? The Great Sirius Black doing _homework_? I never thought I'd see the day!" James said mockingly.

"Oh shove off it James, you smell like a putrid flower that manifested from the fiery pits of Hell. Oh wait that's right, you've been hanging out with the She-devil for the past five hours." Sirius quickly snapped back, not quite sure whether he was joking or not.

"Ouch, that one hurt a bit, mate."

"Good, I'm glad."

James snorted at Sirius' mood, "Someone's a bit touchy. Here, look…I brought you some cake from the kitchens. When you didn't show up for dinner I figured you'd be hungry, so I grabbed it for you while I was making my rounds on hallway patrol."

Sirius relaxed a little at the sight of cake. He always loved cake. But still, it was chocolate cake, and that just reminded him all the more why he was in such a sour mood.

"Thanks I guess, but I'm not that hungry…," Sirius struggled to find something else to say before James turned the conversation back on Sirius and why he was in fact doing homework. Anything was better than _that_ conversation…even one about Evans, as much as it disgusted him to admit.

"So…where's the lovely Miss Evans? I thought you were with her."

"I was…but then we had to split up to do the rounds, and I haven't seen her since. She has the late shift tonight so I don't think she'll be back for another hour or so. Why do you care anyway?"

Sirius shrugged. He didn't really care all that much, but it did disappoint Sirius to hear that Evans wouldn't be there again to distract James from the dreaded conversation that was about to take place.

"Okay…Anyways, I wanted to ask you a question."

Sirius sighed mentally…here it comes. "What?"

"Well, seeing as how Remus is going to hang out with Damocles and his crew, and Peter has a date…"

"Wait Peter has a date…since when did hell freeze over?"

James laughed good-naturedly. "Yes he does as a matter of fact…where have you been the past few days? That's all he's been talking about for the past week. It's been Jolene this and Jolene that…"

"Jolene, as in Jolene Patterson the Hufflepuff sixth year? Hmm…I dated her once…not a very good kisser, too prudent if you ask me…maybe-" James cut him off.

"Yes, Padfoot, Jolene Patterson! That's not the point though…the point _is_..." Sirius was still mentally musing over the brief fling he had with the girl.

"She did have nice legs though…"

James clapped his hands together in frustration. "Bloody hell Sirius; focus for a second will you!" Sirius looked up at James as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"Oh yeah…sorry mate, go on then."

"Thanks. Okay so Remus is going to be gone and so is Peter. So that leaves the two of us…"

"Which is fine," Albeit not exactly according to plan, Sirius thought begrudgingly.

"Which_ would _be fine…except…" James trailed off in an attempt to postpone something he was dreading.

"Except you now have plans with Evans." Sirius replied matter-of-factly, though his insides were reeling. First Remus ditches him, then Peter, and now James? Was this some kind of joke?

"I…Wait, how did you know that?"

"Lucky _guess._" Sirius replied scathingly. Now he knew why James brought the cake.

"Look I'm sorry mate, but Lily guilted me into it and you know I can't say no! We weren't going to get much accomplished anyways, not without Moony and Wormtail. And I'm sure you'll find something to do without me, won't you?"

Sirius was sick of this conversation already. Maybe now would be a good time to go to bed. Sirius probably shouldn't get into an argument with his best-friend. It might lead to questions about his bad mood which could then lead to questions about his argument with Remus. Yep, Sirius was going to pretend to just shrug it off and head to bed. That was the safest bet.

"Yeah, sure I guess…Here," Sirius handed James the chocolate cake, "you can give the cake to your Devil-woman. Should make a nice dessert after the dinner she had feasting on people's souls."

"Oh come on Sirius, you got to stop it with the evil-woman jokes, they're getting old. Plus I got the cake for you, aren't you hungry?"

"Heh…funny thing, I just lost my appetite." And with that Sirius gathered up his materials and headed up the winding staircase that led to the boys' dorms. Shortly after that he heard Evans enter the common room and greet James, guaranteeing that he wouldn't follow Sirius up to bed anytime soon.


	5. 1:5

**A/N: Don't get too excited. This is simply a tie-over chapter. I had a scene that wouldn't fit necessarily into the next chapter but deserved to be separate from the previous. So here it is! Also I wanted to give a huge thank you to those who have reviewed my story (**_**TechNomaNcer28**_** and **_**Hopeful Rays**_**) as well as those of you following it officially or unofficially!**

Easier to Lie

Part 1

Chapter 5

"_Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler."_

_~Friedrich Nietzsche_

Sirius quickly changed into pajama bottoms, not bothering to throw on a t-shirt, and jumped into bed. He closed the curtains behind him, hoping this would cut down the loudness of Peter's horrid snoring. When this proved unsuccessful, Sirius shoved a pillow over his head. He could have cast a silencing charm, but had decided against it in the end. Sirius would never admit it outright but he wanted to hear when Remus got back.

About five minutes later James entered the boys' dorms. The floors creaked obnoxiously as he got ready for bed. It was a wonder that Peter could sleep right though this, but then again Sirius figured that if Peter could sleep through his own snoring than he could probably sleep through an bloody earthquake if he wanted to.

The door to the boys' dormitories opened for the second time. Sirius willed his heart to not jump out of his chest like it did the night before. He could hear Remus getting ready for bed. The floor boards didn't creak half as much as that had when James walked on them. In fact, Remus was so quiet that Sirius barely heard his friend's footsteps as they passed his bed.

And then they stopped.

Remus hesitated in front of Sirius's bed for a several seconds before continuing on to his own bed. Once again, Sirius had to make a conscious effort to breathe evenly so Remus couldn't detect that he was indeed still awake. The last thing Sirius needed was to have another conversation like last night. How awkward had _that_ been? And of course it had only gotten worse as the day progressed. Why had things gone so horribly wrong? Now all Sirius was wishing for was that he could just have the old Remus back; The one that hadn't been corrupted by Damocles Belby; the one that actually wanted to spend time with the Marauders; the one that Sirius could talk to without feeling so…so…

_Ugh…_ Sirius couldn't even think of a word to describe all the feelings he experienced over the past few days.

Wait, when did Sirius Black start caring about feelings?

No, only nutty girls and Remus ever thought about stuff like that. Not Sirius. Sirius didn't have to…

…Nope…there was nothing to think about…

…

…

…And _besides_, it wasn't really all that complicated! Get rid of Belby and things go back to normal…right? Once they were all finished with these D.A.D.A. projects, there would be no reason for Damocles to spend time with Remus anymore. He'd go back to his own group of friends, and Remus would go back to his.

Yes, it was all quite simple really; nothing to worry about…

…right?

**A/N: Thanks for reading, once again. I know its short but a nice chapter is coming up. Actually the next three chapters you don't want to miss. All this build up...I know...**

**Please share the love and review! If everyone who has read this story reviewed once there would about one to two hundred reviews haha :-) So love it, hate it, have questions. Leave a comment and let me know!**

**Much love to you all,**

**[jay-jay]**


	6. 1:6

**A/N: Hello! Thanks for the reviews (**_Made-in-Denmark_**, **_TechNomaNcer28_**, and **_Hopeful Rays_**) I appreciate it! We're almost finished with Part I of Easier to Lie. I hope you're all liking the story so far. Let me know what you think of this chapter! If I get some more reviews I may post the next chapter as well. Now go enjoy the story ;)**

Easier to Lie

Part 1

Chapter 6

_"There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate"_

~Anonymous

The next morning Sirius awoke to find that he had nearly missed breakfast, _again_. This frustration was doubled when he realized that everybody would be leaving for Hogsmeade in less than an hour. Apparently, his friends were too busy making plans without him to realize that he'd overslept. Sirius scowled, was it so hard to do a favor and wake your best-mate up?

Sirius hopped out of bed, showered, and dressed. It took him less than 30 minutes which must have been some kind of record since it usually took him about 30 minutes to just style his hair. Picking what he was going to where usually took another 20 minutes, this was because he had to debate over what would look best on him. And, since everything looked so good on him, it was often hard to choose what to wear. Normally, Sirius ended up asking Remus to choose an outfit for him and, in most of these instances, Remus already had an outfit picked out for Sirius ahead of time. This was only because none of his mates were patient enough to wait for Sirius to dress himself. It was simply a lot less painful for them all if someone just made the wardrobe decisions for Sirius. Of course, Remus always lost at the "Not It" game and eventually just volunteered to be Sirius's personal stylist. Sirius smiled at the random musing. It was quite curious that Remus would become Sirius's unofficial stylist considering the boy had no sense of style at all…not that it was his fault or anything. Remus was the poster-child for the Salvation Army.

Sirius glanced approvingly at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He had grabbed the first thing that matched from his trunk: A pair of black jeans, a black rock-band t-shirt, black trainers, and, of course, his black leather jacket. He ruffled his hair for good measure, flashed a smile, and gave a satisfied nod. Maybe he didn't need Remus to pick out his clothes any more.

After all, he_ did_ look good in anything.

Good looks weren't going to help him today though. He still had to talk Remus out of going to Hogsmeade with "Belby. Sirius rushed down to the Great Hall. He quickly grabbed two pieces of toast and shoved them in his mouth. The few people that were still having breakfast gave him disgusted looks, but he didn't give them much notice as he downed a glass of pumpkin juice and dashed out into the Entrance Hall.

It didn't take him long to find Remus in the throng of students crowding the main entrance. This was mostly due to the fact that he was with Damocles Belby. That kid was easy to pick out anywhere…tall, blonde, and always surrounded by an ocean of friends…the majority of those friends being birds that Sirius had gotten with and then broken it off with…Must have felt like a man being surrounded by all of Sirius's rebound girls.

Sirius took a deep breath before tapping his friend on the shoulder. He just needed to convince Remus to ditch Belby…that was it. If he could do that then everything would go back to normal.

"Hey Remus, can I talk to you for a second?"

Remus's back went rigid as he turned towards Sirius. He looked as though he was about to say something harsh, but he must have seen the look on Sirius's face, because his posture softened slightly.

"Look Sirius now's probably not the best time, we were just about to catch a carriage. Can it wait till later?"

"No it can't…Look," Sirius spared a brief glance over Remus shoulder to see if Damocles was listening in. It didn't look like it, but Sirius couldn't be sure, so he pulled Remus a little ways away from the large group of Ravenclaws. "I wanted to just say that I'm sorry for being a git yesterday…and yeah." Sirius hadn't really planned what he was going to say after that, he was just kind of working off of Remus's forgiving nature.

Remus gave a sigh. "It's fine, Padfoot. Just don't do it again alright? It really gives people the worst impression of you…and of me. You really threw Dom off yesterday when you started scowling at him for no good reason."

Good.

"Great! Won't do it again." _Not._ "So does this mean we can go to Hogsmeade together now?"

"What? No Sirius! You don't get it at all do you?"

"Come on it'll be fun, just you and me, pulling pranks, perusing Zonko's, I'll even get you those chocolates you like so much, I know that you're running low on your usual supply."

"Sirius, I -"

A calm voice interrupted whatever Remus was about to say, "You don't have to bother getting him chocolate, Black, I've already got that covered. I owe Remus for finding me a rare book on Dark creatures. Plus we already have a whole day planned out for him." Damocles place a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Don't worry though; I'll take good care of Remus."

Sirius snorted. "You're going to get him chocolate? You don't even know what kind he likes!"

Remus raised an eyebrow, perturbed by the strange turn the conversation had taken. Damocles brushed over the odd comment, with a tactful answer. "That may be true, I guess I just automatically assumed it was milk chocolate. Hmm…maybe I should have asked Remus, or you since you seem to know his chocolate preferences best." Damocles gave a patronizing smile.

This just irked Sirius even more. "Well for your information he likes _dark_ chocolate. And I would know. _I'm_ his best-friend. That's why he's coming to Hogsmeade with me, right Remus?"

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know what? I like both types of chocolate! So just shut it Padfoot, you're acting like a third-year girl for Merlin's sake. And just because you've apologized to me does not mean I've changed my mind about today's plans. For Godric's sake I feel like I've been over this a thousand times already. I made plans to go to Hogsmeade with Dom, and therefore _I'm going to Hogsmeade with Dom. _Why is that so hard for you to understand? I'll spend time with you _another_ day. You know I will. It's just…today is already set aside for something else. Okay?"

Sirius hadn't planned on Remus standing his ground and now he wasn't sure how to reconcile the situation. He needed for Remus to ditch Damocles. That was the only way for things to go back to normal! Then again, if he tried anything else today, Remus might not talk to him for the rest of the month. It would probably be smarter if Sirius dropped the matter until after Hogsmeade. Right now he couldn't bear the thought of going another day on Remus's bad side.

"…Fine." Sirius snapped out.

Damocles clapped his hands together loudly, breaking the tension that had been hanging in the air since Sirius had made his way over to Dom's group of friends.

"Well I'm glad that's all settled. Remus we should probably head out now…oh but you know what…before we do, I am just curious about one thing Sirius."

Sirius crossed his arms defensively; still uncomfortable with the fact that he just admitted temporary defeat in front of a know-it-all jerk like Damocles Belby. "Oh? And what's that Belby." Damocles may have been on first name terms with Sirius now but that was not going to be reciprocated any time soon. Plus he was only doing so because Remus was there.

"Well, I'm just wondering. Did you intentionally dress according to your name? You know...Like is it supposed to be some kind of pun or something?" Belby's smile told Sirius all he needed to know. The question may have seemed light-hearted and innocent to someone like Remus, but Sirius read it completely differently. Damocles was trying to add insult to injury. He knew that Sirius had already lost the battle to take Remus to Hogsmeade, and now he was just asserting that he had the victory…by insulting Sirius's choice of... clothes. Wow…

"For your information Belby, I actually picked out my own clothes today, since Remus wasn't there to do it for me like he usually does. _And_ I did it in less than five minutes!" He turned slightly to address his tawny haired friend, who now had one eyebrow raised in an amused fashion. He looked as though he was trying not to laugh. "Moony you would have been proud of me. You know how long it usually takes me to dress myself and I even match this time!"

"It's true, I am proud of you…usually if I'm not there to help him, he just end up picking his most favorite articles of clothing and throwing them together in a mis-matched mess. It's embarrassing really…but still Sirius…_all black_? Couldn't have grabbed something a little less…" Remus waved his hand at Sirius's current outfit.

"Badass?" Sirius suggested arrogantly.

Remus just rolled his eyes. Damocles was watching the exchange with the most confused look Sirius had ever seen the boy wear. At least Sirius' answer wasn't what Damocles expected. Sirius even got to mention how Remus picked all of his outfits. Something Remus would only do for his _best_ friend. And Remus said he was _proud_ of Sirius. Try and get Remus to say that about Damocles! Hah!

"Look, I got to run Sirius. I think James is coming over to see you. You should probably see what he wants." Damocles was starting to pull Remus to the double doors at the Entrance. Remus's speech became more hurried and apologetic. "We'll talk later alright? I promise I'll bring back some chocolate for you so we can share it! Bye Padfoot…!"

And Remus was gone. Plan A had failed. Which meant on to plan B….that is…if Sirius could even figure out what plan B was.


	7. 1:7

**A/N: These last two chapters of **_ETL Part I_** are for **_Made-In-Denmark_. **Sorry for the delay. I just thought no one really cared much for my story. (Almost no one is commenting haha) But you came back to comment again. And so I'll publish this as thanks for giving my virtual behind a good kick. Thanks also to those who reviewed the last chapter. You know who you are. I am grateful. It keeps me going.**

**ENJOY.**

Easier To Lie

Part 1

Chapter 7

"_No doubt exists that all women are crazy; it's only a question of degree"_

~W. C. Fields

"Oy Black! Lookin' sharp, mate!"

Sirius turned around to face James. He tried to keep the begrudging tone out of his voice as he made a characteristic quip. "When do I not?"

"Of course, of course! I was just going to congratulate you on the fact that you actually dressed yourself today." James replied teasingly.

"No thanks to any of _you_ might I add." Sirius shot back a bit more snidely then he had intended. James didn't deserve that though. It wasn't his fault he had to ditch Sirius today because he sold his soul to that succubus named Evans. He made his next comment a bit more casually. "I'm assuming that you didn't just come here to comment on my choice in wardrobe, Prongs. What is it you were looking for, because that Hungarian Horntail you call your girlfriend is about to come over here. And frankly…I'm not in the mood to dodge her fire spitting today."

James returned his friend's thinly disguised insult with an exasperated look. "Right well, I don't want her to see this either, so I'll make it quick." Sirius raised an eyebrow at this remark…What was Prongs up to?

James started to dig something out of his coat as he continued his hurried conversation. "Look mate, I feel really bad about changing plans on you at the last minute. I know how much you were looking forward to pranking Snivellus and the lot." They gave each other a knowing look. "So I thought I'd give you the cloak to use at your…ehem…discretion. It's the least I could do." James handed the silky invisibility cloak over to Sirius and looked warily at Lily who was approaching fast behind him. "I'm sure you'll find some sort of suitable mischief to get yourself into while I'm not around. Just don't do anything stupid, that's all."

Lily, whose face had become more and more suspicious as she approached, heard the last comment and snorted derisively.

"Saying something like that to Black is like telling the earth to stop spinning, or the sun to freeze over….its naturally impossible for him to do anything of the sort."

"Oh shut it Evans. You're just jealous that I've seen James naked more times than you." Sirius shot out the roguish quip with complete confidence. Surely, she would loathe that comment.

Sure enough, Lily's face blushed a brilliant shade of red, matching her hair to a tee. Nevertheless, she gathered enough composure to make her own seething retort.

"How could that be possible Black, when the only thing _you_ have eyes for is your own reflection?"

"Once again _Evans_, you're just jealous that I have a reflection that doesn't run away from me in horror."

Lily glared at him heatedly. "Why you insufferable-"

James's exasperated shout interrupted the two's bickering. "Alright right you two need to shut up! We're all going to be walking to Hogsmeade if we don't hurry up and get in a carriage."

Lily looked torn between giving Sirius a piece of her mind or yielding to James' plea. Sirius just smiled, pleased with how easy it was to ruffle Evan's feathers. _He_ had all day to debate the silly chit. Plus he could always take a shortcut to get to Hogsmeade.

Lily let out an annoyed breath. "Fine."

Sirius's smile broadened at the red head's obvious enragement. She looked like she was about to throttle him. A secret part of him wished that he could get the same kind of reaction out of Damocles Belby…but that bloke knew how to dodge insults like a chaser dodges a bludger.

"Let's go James." Lily dragged James away, leaving the smell of burning sulfur in her wake… Or maybe Sirius was just imagining that part.

Sirius hurried outside and jumped in the last carriage before it rode away. As soon as he seated himself, he regretted not taking the shortcut through Honeyduke's cellar. The carriage was full of giddy third-year girls. After dealing with Lily "I-have-permanent-PMS" Evans, Sirius wasn't in the mood to handle a bunch of love-sick thirteen year olds.

Sometimes he wished he was ugly so that awkward situations like this didn't happen.

…Hold on, he totally took that back. What was he thinking? Give up his good looks? He shuddered at the very thought. Not even a bunch of sickly-sweet smelling girls could make him _that_ desperate.

In the end Sirius decided to just ignore them completely, mentally willing them to pick up their jaws and stop staring.

Wait was that one drooling at him?

Ugh…all the attention was flattering, but that was just...weird. One of the girl's friends, indiscreetly whacked her on the back of the head. Then they all went back to whispering with each other. Sirius could only guess what they were talking about; then again he really didn't want to know and plus he had more important things to think about.

Plan B….plan B…hmm. Well, he _did_ have the invisibility cloak, so that could definitely come in handy if he needed to sneak around. Of course, Sirius had no intention of perusing with ladies or playing pranks on unsuspecting bystanders as James had so aptly implied. No, he had higher aspirations for today's mischief making…

…First course of action for enacting Plan B?

Sabotage Damocles.

Sirius would need all of his subtlest arsenal for this one.


	8. 1:8

Easier to Lie

Part 1

Chapter 8

"_There's nothing like eavesdropping to show you that the world outside your head is different from the world inside your head"_

_~ Thornton Wilder_

First thing was first; Sirius had to _find_ Damocles, and consequently Remus, without them finding _him_ in the process. The best place to look for Remus and Damocles was in the Three Broomsticks. Sirius remembered seeing Damocles and his friends in there many times before, drinking butter beer and telling their ridiculously drawn-out quidditch stories. As a matter of fact, this was the only time Damocles was not surrounded by fawning women. It was just the blokes when they went into the Three Broomsticks.

Usually, if James or Sirius were in a particularly festive mood, they would play pranks on the Ravenclaw jocks. James always reminded Sirius that the competition between teams didn't end on the quidditch pitch and that the Gryffindors should not only _outplay_ the Ravenclaws but also _outwit_ them. It was a fun hobby to pass the time while waiting for drinks, almost as fun as trying out new pranks on unsuspecting Slytherins…but not quite as fun.

Fortunately, the Ravenclaw athletes were not the target of Sirius's pranking today. Instead it was their quidditch captain that Sirius was interested in. Not only did Sirius want to prank Damocles but he also wanted to keep an eye on him.

Sirius slipped through the door after a Hufflepuff fourth year. He took his time scanning the pub, but didn't have to look very far.

A burst of laughter erupted from the corner of the room. As quickly and inconspicuously as he could, Sirius made his way over to the table at the far end. From under the invisibility cloak Sirius observed Damocles, Remus, and three Ravenclaw guys that Sirius couldn't name. He mused that it they'd been at Hogwarts together for almost seven years, even played quidditch games against each other, and yet he _still_ couldn't place any their names, only faces. The only other thing Sirius recognized about Damocles' friends were their quidditch positions: Two chasers and a beater.

Sirius drew closer to the boisterous conversation, careful not to make any noise. He tried to tune into the main discussion but his attention was soon captured by the silent dialogue ensuing between Remus and Damocles.

"So he just dodges the quaffle like it's a bloody fireball or something. Doesn't even _try_ to catch it." One of the boys exclaimed with a hearty laugh. Damocles gave a quirky smile. Only it was not in response to the bloke's story, but instead a direct result of the bored look on Remus' face. Remus, who sat with one arm folded and another arm holding up his head, rolled his eyes at the innocent smile as if to indicate that he was used to hearing about quidditch stories 24/7.

"Yeah can't imagine what he would do if he were in a game and a bludger went after him…prolly fall off his broom!" All the boys except for Dom and Remus laughed at this.

"Bloke must have been…what? A second year? Never should have tried out. For goodness sake it was embarrassin' even for _me_ and I was just watchin'!"

Remus raised his eyebrows in amusement. Damocles in turn shook his head, laughing under his breath.

"I can't imagine how you kept a straight face through those Chaser tryouts Damocles!"

Though he was being addressed, Damocles didn't take his eyes off Remus's face.

"Yeah I mean if I was captain of Ravenclaw I wouldn't have had the self-control to tell the poor bloke to not try out next year."

In a moment of bashfulness, Remus ducked his head, hiding his face from Damocles focused gaze. Belby took this moment to reply to his friends' comments.

"I didn't say for him to not try out next year. I said he should wait a couple years. I think he'll clean up nice."

A small smile came onto Remus lips upon hearing Belby's constructive comment. In turn Damocles flashed a brilliant smile at the tawny haired boy.

"_Clean up nice_?" The boy next to him said as he rolled his eyes in disbelief.

The bloke sitting next to Remus let out a snort. "Yeah right. The only thing I can see this kid cleaning up is his own blood on the keepers post."

"Totally! That kid was a train wreck waiting to happen!"

"The poor bloke."

During this part of the conversation, Remus had chosen to lean back and cross his arms with a sigh. This, Sirius knew, wasn't a sigh of impatience, Remus rarely ever got impatient, rather it was a sigh of resignation. Sirius could only recognize the difference because this was the stance Remus would take when Sirius and James got into any discussion about pranks, Quidditch, or women. So it wasn't as though the tawny haired boy was fed up with the conversation, it was merely Remus's way of waiting out the shallowness. It was obvious though that Damocles had misread this as irritation because Sirius watched him lean over and whisper something to the bloke on his right. He was probably saying something along the lines of 'think of something else to talk about' because the Ravenclaw to Dom's left…what was his name? Ralph? Ray? Whatever it was, turned to Remus as if just noticing his existence and proceeded to ask a series of questions with forced enthusiasm.

"Oh yeah sorry mate, what's your name again?"

Remus almost looked annoyed that the boy didn't know his name. Well, at least Remus was hiding it better than Damocles….or Sirius for that matter.

"My name's Remus." His quiet,calm tone was like night and day compare to the boisterous voices of the boys around him.

"Oh right. So Rem…what do you like to do for fun?" Both Remus and Sirius winced at the nick-name. Remus hated when people called him 'Rem', though he'd never call someone out on it, it bugged him just the same. The only person Remus ever allowed to use that name was Sirius, and this was simply because it was impossible to deter the Sirius from using a nickname once he had decided on using it.

Remus looked at Damocles who in turn nodded encouragingly. "Erm…I….like to read books?" Remus said it like a question rather than a statement. Sirius rolled his eyes at this. A bloke asks Remus what he does for fun and all the boy has to say is that he reads books. It would figure.

The Ray-kid immediately became disinterested and looked to the other guys to carry on the conversation somehow. Remus always did have a knack for completely killing any discussion with the mention of books, and now was no exception.

"Wait!" One of the boys, a dark skinned fellow with black hair, shouted as though he had finally remembered something important. Remus whipped his head around so fast, that Sirius swore he heard the boy's neck crick. "I recognize you now! Your friends with Potter, aren't you?"

An odd look flashed across Remus's face at the random outburst. "Er…yeah."

Another boy chipped in. "Oh…James Potter, isn't he the Gryffindor quidditch captain?"

"Yeah, and a bloody good one at that," another boy commented. He shot a remorseful look at Belby as he said this. "No offense Damocles…"

Belby waved his hand, unperturbed. "No, no I agree…"

"Isn't he Head Boy this year? Kinda ironic, eh?"

"Yeah considering all he ever does in his spare time is play pranks on those Slytherins and chase after that red head girl…what's her name…."

"Her name's Lily Evans." Remus interjected quietly.

"Oh you know her?" Ray questioned, finally realizing that Remus was still part of the conversation.

One of the other boys spoke up before Remus could get another word in edgewise.

"Know her? Of course he knows her you idiot." He swatted his friend mockingly on the back of the head. "She's the Head Girl, right? Plus didn't you like…shag her or something, Lupin?" The dark haired boy, (was his last name Patil?), raised an eyebrow quizzically.

Remus, who was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading, tried his best to give a dignified answer. His face was dangerously close to matching his tie; his response laced with a hint of panic.

"I…_no. _I mean no, she's been my friend for a long time, but I'm not…I'm _not…_I mean she's great in everything…but not in that way…she's…a great person…but I could never…I've _never_…!"

A few boys at the table raised their eyebrows, confused by the odd outburst. Damocles looked as though he were trying not to laugh at Remus's embarrassment. Frankly, if this were a conversation between two strangers, Sirius might have thought the reaction quite humorous also. But since this was his best mate sitting there blushing like a girl at very thought about having sex with Evans, Sirius found himself quite unnerved.

He had stopped talking about sex around Remus after third year when he realized Moony was so damn modest that Sirius couldn't even say the word 'snog' around him without Remus imploding from embarrassment. Apparently these guys didn't know that fact about him. At least Damocles looked like he was about to change the topic. But alas, one of his good-for-nothing friends beat him to it. Maybe they had a little more decency than Sirius had initially thought. Then again, the next subject they brought up wasn't much better then the former.

"Oh speaking of shagging, doesn't your friend Potter hang out with that bloke…er…what's his name? You know the one that's shagged every Ravenclaw bird from fifth year up? Er…his brothers that twat from Slytherin, the one that's always challenging you to a duel Ray…" Patil looked to his friend Ray for help.

"Oh that guy? His name's….wait you're talking' bout' the bloke that got caught by McGonagall, shagging that Hufflepuff girl in the Astronomy tower, right? That was completely legendary. Hey not to mention all the pranks he and Potter get away with on a daily basis. That guy's a bloody riot, I tell ya'!"

"Yeah, but what's his _name_?"

"Oh...er..."

Sirius didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted that these boys called him legendary and at the same time couldn't remember his name. Perhaps Ravenclaws weren't as bright as they were chalked up to be.

"His name is Sirius Black, alright!" Remus shouted. Well at least what would be considered a shout for Remus. Regardless, the uncharacteristic outburst brought the boys' musings to a halt. Remus looked even more uncomfortable than before, if that was possible. Damocles gave his friends a warning look, trying to bring them back to more neutral territory.

"Right, right!" Said Patil, as Remus' words jolted his memory. After registering Belby's warning look, the boy asked another, less awkward question. "And I'm assuming you know this guy…Black I mean to say."

After all that had been said about Sirius' reputation, he actually wasn't sure for once what Remus' answer might be. His toes curled in anticipation. Really, Sirius wouldn't blame Remus if he lied just to save himself the humiliation.

"I…wouldn't say that I know him…but..."

Sirius's heart sunk unexpectedly in his chest. Hadn't he _just_ said that he wouldn't be mad if Remus chose to answer this way? What was his problem then? Sirius should have expected it…

"…I mean…he's more than an acquaintance…"

This time Sirius heart did the opposite and shot up to his throat in surprise.

What was _wrong_ with him today?

"And he's definitely more than just the womanizer you all make him out to be," Remus continued with growing confidence. "He's my best-mate."

A weird mixture of pride and relief flooded through Sirius as he heard this statement. Another emotion was also among the mix, but Sirius didn't dare try to identify it. Instead he let out the breath he'd been subconsciously holding.

Remus, perhaps realizing what a sentimental sod he sounded like, blushed the deepest shade of red imaginable. Unbelievably, this surpassed the blush Remus gave while discussing his sexual relationship with Evans.

Curious…

Damocles, who was always so good at brushing over awkward moments, inserted his own comment to keep things moving smoothly.

"Ay…and don't forget Black's a damn good Beater too, even if he is a Gryffindor." Belbly finished begrudgingly.

Wait a minute…

Had Belby just given Sirius a _compliment_. No, no, _no_! This was all wrong! How could Sirius possibly continue hating Belby if Belby was actually defending Sirius in a conversation where even his own _friends_ were trashing Sirius's name? This was not supposed to happen. Then again, Sirius reassured himself, Belby might just be doing this to stay on Remus's good side. He was still a prat after all.

Remus gave the blonde haired boy an appreciative smile, much to Sirius' annoyance.

One of the boys, the one who Sirius guess played beater, responded to this in a competitive tone. "Ay but not good enough to stand up to Ravenclaw's team in the next quidditch match. We're gunna destroy them! I'm betting on more than a hundred point win!"

"I'm betting on two-hundred!" Another boy shouted, equally as spirited.

Damocles, sensing that conversation on quidditch wasn't going to end anytime soon, decided to take his leave. He caught Remus's eye and nodded discretely towards the door as if to ask Remus if he would like to go. Remus, not wanting to be too eager or seem rude, gave an apathetic shrug. Damocles took this as a confirmation and hastily made an excuse to escape his friends.

"Hey you guys, I just remembered I have to buy a few things before we head back to the castle. I'm gunna take Remus with me. You guy's will be okay without me, right? Just promise me there will be no betting on next week's game? I seriously think you'll all end up jinxing it if you do. We'll see you when the carriages come to take us back, and if not then I'll just see you guys back at the common room, yeah?"

"It's your call Damocles, but you'll be missing out on a great conversation. I was gunna tell them about the beater tryouts."

"I don't think I'll miss anything Elliot, I was there, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, off you go Mr. Belby. Oh and it was good meeting you…" Elliot hesitated, trying to remember Remus's name.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Remus." Remus replied patiently.

"Right, well it was good meeting you Remus…"

"Likewise…"

"Great, well, see you guys later!" Belby shot out before pulling Remus through the maze of tables and out the front door.

Sirius hurried to follow them outside, almost bumping into a hoard of Slytherins along the way. A cool breeze whipped across the dark-haired boy's face as he searched the street for the two men. Finally he spotted them entering a bookshop. It figured. Sirius hastened to catch up and slipped stealthily through the doorway just as it began to close.

He followed as near as he could without being detected by Remus's senses. Sirius ended up close enough to hear the two boys' quiet conversation as they idly browsed the store's bookshelves.

Remus looked ready to pretend the embarrassing events back at the Three Broomsticks never happened, but Belby must have seen a need to rectify the horrible situation. He opened and close his mouth a couple times, trying to figure out the best way to smooth over the situation, which he was usually so good at doing, but nothing came out. Finally Remus turned towards Damocles. This seemed to spur him into action. Before his resolve could falter again, he willed himself to speak.

"Look Remus…I guess I owe you an apology for what went on back there. The guys don't seem to have the gift of intellectual conversation, despite them being Ravenclaws. I guess I failed to consider that all they'd talk about is quidditch and girls they'd like to shag. I mean I can understand if it made you feel uncomfortable, and I'm sorry I didn't put an end to the rudeness sooner…Not a very good first impression I guess, maybe...maybe this trip wasn't such a good idea." As Damocles' voice trailed off,

Sirius struggled to stifle a victorious bark of laughter. Belby was actually admitting that inviting Remus to Hogsmeade was a bad idea? It was too perfect! Apparently, Sirius didn't have to resort to sabotage after all. It seemed that Damocles and his brutish friend's had accomplished that particular task without any help at all.

"No don't say that Dom, it was definitely a good idea. I mean, not the conversation persè, but you know…I'm glad you invited me to Hogsmeade." Remus smiled warmly.

Both Sirius and Damocles looked up in surprise at the tawny boy's response. Apparently it was not what either of them was expecting.

Damocles looked pleasantly perturbed. "You…I…_really_, because I was under the impression that you now thought of me as a total…"

…Bastard? An inconsiderate twat? A tactless brute?

Sirius amused himself by mentally filling in the blank.

Remus struggled to hold the other man's gaze who, for once in his life, had the decency to look bashful. "Damocles, you and I both know that our friends' antics aren't what define us in the end. I mean seriously, look at my friends. I mean they're good to me and all, but can I just say that the conversation your friends carried out today was _not_ the worst I've ever had to hear. When you're friends with James Potter and Sirius Black embarrassing conversations like that kind of come with the package." Remus gave a half-hearted shrug. Sirius almost opened his mouth to protest this, but was quickly reminded that he was under the invisibility cloak. Remus really thought that about him and Prongs?

"Plus, I've come to the conclusion that every conversation you have with a group of blokes is always going to end in either quidditch or girl. It's like an unwritten rule, is it not?" Remus finished with an shrug.

Sirius ground his teeth together in protest. Was Remus joking? They talked about loads of different things! And not just quidditch and women…they talked about pranks too…and parties…and music… Lily who didn't really _count_ as a woman…The point was that if Remus really didn't like what his friends talked about then why hadn't he said something? He had known the tawny haired boy for seven years and Sirius was just finding this out now?

Remus flashed a small smile, obviously trying hard to show Damocles that his mistakes were now part of the past.

"Well, hopefully I can become the exception to that rule then." Damocles replied hopefully, his confidence, much to Sirius's dismay, back in full swing.

Remus's blush was almost imperceptible, but Sirius noticed it. Why in the world he was _blushing_ at this remark, Sirius had no idea. He'd been blushing at weird things all day. And now it was just getting on Sirius' nerves.

Remus gave a quiet laugh. "Well, I think you've already proven yourself to be, otherwise I obviously wouldn't be here right now."

Both men stared at each other for a moment too long. Sirius shifted uncomfortably from his position behind the bookshelf. He seemed to be finding himself in these positions a lot lately.

He willed himself not to sneeze.

"So I guess this mean's that the day's not ruined after all? I mean, as long as I don't bring up quidditch or anything related to the female species, I'll be in the clear?"

Remus chuckled good-naturedly, "You misunderstand me, Dom. I'm not going to hold it against you if you talk about stuff like that…I just… I mean it would be kind of hard for you not to bring up those things in conversation considering who you are…"

"Who I am? …I…I don't understand…I rather thought I was different then my friends…You know…the _exception_?" Damocles finished humorously.

"You're quite the exception, trust me…but still…it's just…you're…I mean… look at you Damocles! Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, star-player, always the popular one… not to mention how you're always surrounded by gratuitous amounts of girl-friends. It's part of who you are and, well, it's bound to come up in conversation is it not?"

Damocles took a good long look at Remus before finally giving him an even response, "I was hoping that you of all people would see that I'm more than all that, Remus."

Remus actually seemed offended by this remark and responded accordingly, "I _do_ Dom. There is definitely more to you than meets the eye, I have no doubt about that fact."

"You know," Damocles looked deep in thought as though he was carefully choosing the words he was about to say. Somehow Sirius didn't doubt that for one second. Of course Damocles knew how to play the game of words. He had convinced Remus to go to Hogsmeade with him, had he not?

"The same could be said about you, Remus. I mean… I also feel like there is a lot more to you than what meets the eye."

"You do?" Remus replied flatly, crossing his arms defensively.

Sirius immediately recognized the guarded tone behind the seemingly plain reply. Remus had built up a convincing façade over the past six years at Hogwarts, and whenever there came a situation where someone threatened to get underneath the surface of that façade, Remus would begin to shut down. The solid barrier Remus constructed around his heart, his past, his horrible truths, were not so much to protect him from the ensuing judgment and persecution of others, but rather to protect others from his dangerous nature. Sirius knew all this because he had been one of the few to find a way _past_ that barrier; past the lies and past the mask of control. It had taken all of Sirius's efforts to get to that level of trust with Remus, but it had all been worth it in the end. Though Remus thought of himself as a treacherous beast, great risk to all those who encounter him, Sirius had always seen him for what he truly was, not a beast, but a man. Scarred, yes. On the edge, yes. But not ugly, or treacherous, or out of control. Remus was, in all honesty, the most genuine, caring, patient, intelligent, strong-willed bloke Sirius knew. Damocles would never understand that, this Sirius was sure of. And it seemed like Remus was quickly concluding that too.

"Well, look at _you_ Remus! You're a walking contradiction. For goodness sakes, you live in a world of academia, you read _poetry_, you listen to _swing_ music, you memorize the _Classics_, you study _Muggles_ as a...as a _hobby_! Not to mention you're absolutely bloody _brilliant_!" Damocles' bright tone took a slightly bitter turn, "And then…and then you go off and hang out with blokes like Sirius Black and James Potter and you suddenly become someone else completely. There's a whole 'nother side of you I'm not seeing Remus. Don't get me wrong, I'm not really saying it's a bad thing. I'm just curious as to why you put up with these blokes when they seem so _opposite_ to who you are as a person!"

Remus occupied himself by idly running his fingers along the books of a nearby shelf, his eyes not quite registering the titles on the spines as he thought carefully about his reply, "I guess from the outside looking in that's how it would seem, like I have nothing in common with them, but you got to understand, they have been my best mates for years. They may seem shallow to you Dom, but they befriended me when no one else would, accepted me for who I was, and I'm forever in their debt for that. Plus they have always looked out for me. Albeit that can be a bit much at times…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Remus took a book off the shelf and started flipping through the pages absent-mindedly, "for example, they have always made it a point to set me up on dates with girls. They think it's in my best interest to get hitched, lest I live the rest of my life a poor bachelor so consumed with lonliness that he resorts to conversing with inanimate objects," Remus, realizing what he just admitted, added on. "...Or at least that's what Sirius always tells me. I swear Dom, last year I must have gone on at least twenty dates, most of which were Sirius's old rebound girls."

"Not a pleasant experience then I'm assuming?"

"Well…no, not really. Usually there were two endings to the dates themselves. One was that the girl would become my study partner, and the other ending…was…er…well…" Remus shut the book he was studying and placed it back on the shelf. Sirius couldn't see his friends face, but he was sure that it was turning a peculiar shade of pink. It was the theme of the day, after all.

Damocles would probably be left to finish Remus's statement, but Sirius already knew the alternate ending to those dates Remus had gone on. Many of them ended with the girl trying to snog him senseless…or worse. Sirius chuckled at this musing. Remus would always come back completely flustered: hair out of place, shirt twisted, blushing furiously. He never did handle those situations very well, always came back looking paranoid as though he'd been running for his life. Sirius couldn't imagine how any bloke, even as modest as Remus was, could come back from an experience like that and look like he was in fear of his life…Then again with women like Lily Evans out in the world, Sirius really couldn't blame him. But still, Remus was always weird about girls.

Damocles chuckled slightly, "Got it. So you never followed through with any of them, the dates I mean?"

"Well…no. None of the girls that Sirius and James brought me held my interest long enough. And to tell you the truth some of them were down right scary, as you've probably deduced by now."

"I can imagine."

"So…yeah… I don't know…I guess I've just resigned myself to being a single lad the rest of my life…I mean after that many dates its hard to believe that there is any girl out there that could remotely fit the criteria of what I'm looking for in a partner…and now I sound like a bloody ponce."

"Indeed, you do." Damocles replied with an amused grin.

"Right then. Well, I'd appreciate it now if you'd just ignore everything I just said."

"Why? You raise a valid point"

"About what? About being a ponce or about never getting with a girl? Because those are two totally separate things…well wait a minute…maybe there not. But that's not the point, the point is that I'm going to be single the rest of my life and now I'm just embarrassing myself more by rambling. My mother always told me not to ramble but once I get started I just can't seem to stop. It's kinda of a bad habit you see…kind of like the Honeydukes chocolate—"

Remus was getting anxious about something. Sirius could always tell when this was happening. He would start rambling, and his voice would shake ever-so slightly.

"Which by the way I still owe you." Damocles interjected, stepping closer to the tawny haired man.

"—Which by the way you still owe me…and wow we are way off subject now."

Damocles flashed a wry grin, "Hoping I'd forget what we were just discussing?"

"Perhaps…" Remus rubbed his right arm and looked away with a small chuckle.

"Well it didn't work." The emotions on Damocles' face held an odd combination of both mirth and fondness for the embarrassed boy.

"Unfortunately." Remus replied despondently, his eyes still glued to the ground.

"Remus…" Damocles took yet another step forward, trying again to draw Remus' attention off the threadbare carpet.

Sirius shifted uncomfortably under the silky fabric he was wearing. What exactly was Damocles getting at and why was Remus suddenly so withdrawn? Sirius must have missed something important, otherwise, the scene in front of him wouldn't be half as unnerving.

Remus, hearing Damocles speak his name, snapped his head up to gaze at the others boy's face which was now, in Sirius's opinion, _way_ to close for comfort.

Good _Godric_, hadn't Damocles ever heard of personal space?

"Remus did you ever think…" Damocles gave an uncharacteristic sigh and tried to start again, "Did you ever think that maybe….no this is stupid of me, of course you've never thought of this…" Damocles cut himself off again, shaking his head in an effort to throw off the disconcerting thoughts he was having. He tried quickly to turn his back to Remus, probably, Sirius figured, to put some much needed distance between the two men. But he was held back by the tight grip tugging on his upper forearm.

"Never thought of what?"

Damocles turned back. The two stared at each other for a long moment. The taller man seemed to be debating in his head whether he should elaborate on his previous statement. Remus looked as though he was on the brink of discovering something monumental. It reminded Sirius of the look Remus wore when he was just about to fix a master prank that had undergone a lot of trouble-shooting.

Damocles relented with a heavy sigh. "What I was going to say was that maybe your right. Maybe there _is_ no girl out there for you. You...you say that you'll be single forever because none of these girls struck your fancy and the rest of them were just off their rockers, but did you ever think that you might be selling yourself short? Have you ever…have you ever thought that there is a whole 'nother factor that your too scared to consider?"

"What are you trying to say…? Are you saying that—"

Damocles cut Remus off before he could get defensive. "No wait, Remus…just here me out for a second. I knew a guy once who went through the same damn predicament you going through now. He had birds thrown at him for all directions but he just couldn't see himself with any of them. Not one. He was always able to find something that he thought was wrong with them…their promiscuity, their slow wit, their infatuated nature…at least those were his excuses for a while. But...but eventually he realized that, no matter which way he looked at it, he would always be dissatisfied with women. And…and it was around the same time that he realized he was surrounded by blokes who, frightening as it may sound, actually _did_ strike his fancy. For him it seemed that a world of possibilities had been opened to him; that there was a much better chance of finding his 'match' among men rather than women." Damocles stopped talking for a second to scrutinize the shorter boy's face and then continued hurriedly, "It was really a no-brainer after that. It wasn't something he needed to be ashamed of either. You see, people in the wizarding world accept it much more willingly than people in the muggle world. In the end, it was the best decision he ever made for himself and he hasn't looked back since. And now…now there just might be…he just might have found the bloke that he can't live without. And frankly, that's closer than he's ever reached with any of the ladies that have passed through his life." When Damocles finished he was looking at the ground, one hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Remus on the other hand was standing stock still, the hand that had been holding on to Damocles' arm now rigid at his side.

And Sirius… well Sirius didn't know whether he was going to burst out into hysteric laughter or become completely hysterical at the whole proposition Damocles just made.

Did he just _seriously_ implied that Remus should fly for the other team? ...Man, he always knew that Belby was a mental one, but _come on._ Remus a _poofter_? Inconceivable. Laughable even. Sirius just hoped that Remus would tell him so and end the whole discussion. Really, how much more awkward could things possibly get?

"You know, your free to call me crazy and walk out of here right now if you really want to. Honestly, I wouldn't blame you in the slightest. But this idea has been nagging at me for a while now and I just…I had to let you know as a friend... Maybe help you see things from a different perspective. I mean I know what you must think of me for calling you out like this Remus but I'd like to believe you not as narrow minded as some of the other people at this school. I'd like to believe you won't run away from the concept if it rings true for you..." Damocles chuckled to himself, "Look at me. Now _I'm_ sounding like the bloody ponce." Remus was still staring at him with a look of bewilderment. Damocles saw this and tried to change tactics, "Look just forget it, I've already mucked this day up enough, I probably shouldn't have brought it up. You—"

During the time Damocles was rambling, Remus had finally woken up from his stupor of shock. He promptly interrupted the taller boy with the first thing that came to mind.

"This friend of yours…how did he know for certain that he was…well you know…how did he _know_?" Once again Remus had taken a keen interest in the loose threads of the bookstore's old Persian rug. "And for that matter, how could _I _know if I'm…if I find blokes more suitable than girls?" Remus took this opportunity to look up at Damocles for the second time since the discussion had taken this unexpected turn. His arms were again crossed defensively across his chest.

Sirius could tell, judging by Damocles face, that this hadn't been the response he was expecting. And truthfully, it wasn't what Sirius had been expecting either. In fact, Sirius felt light-headed and nauseous all at the same time, like he was living out an unbearably confusing nightmare. Was Remus actually considering what this ponce had to say? Was this really happening? No…no his friend couldn't possibly be… a…a bloody _poof._

Damocles tried to regain some of his old composure. He seemed to consider his next words carefully, scrutinizing the shorter man's expression in order to better gauge the delicate situation.

"Er…well, it's not really something that can be answered in words. It's more something that's better discovered through experience rather than... I mean…I guess it just happens along the way, you just sorta realize that you like blokes and..." Damocles looked down at the ground and looked up again. When he raised his head he seemed more resolved about something. "You know what? Teh' hell with it…"

The next thing Sirius saw made him fall back in surprise.

Damocles Belby had just decided _out of nowhere_ to snog Remus Lupin senseless. Two very _male _people kissing as if nobody was watching! Well... technically no one _should_ have been watching. But Sirius _was_, and now he sorely regretted ever eavesdropping on Remus and this manipulative shirt-lifter in the first place.

Sirius felt sick to his stomach all over again. Honestly now! Why wasn't Remus pushing him away? Why was he just letting Belby continue… The bloke needed to be socked in the face!

Fortunately, the two men broke apart before Sirius could act on this sentiment. Both panted lightly from adrenaline and lack of oxygen. Damocles was, of course, the first to speak up, his sentence coming out in almost a whisper. "Maybe that will answer some of your questions. Let me know how it works out." He gave the shorter boy a meaningful glance before turning and making his way out of the store. Remus just stared, dumb-founded, at the door Damocles had disappeared through. When Remus finally came to his senses he looked around uncomfortably to see if anybody overheard or oversaw anything. Once it had been confirmed that no one had seen anything, he quietly made his way out of the shop also.

Sirius, on the other hand, was trying desperately not to have a full blown panic attack.

What the _bloody_ _**hell**_ just happened?

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Those of you who have reviewed I thank you so much! I enjoy the reviews greatly and they keep me writing! **

**Hope you enjoyed Part I as much as I enjoyed writing it. I especially hope you enjoyed the end of this chapter! **

**If you did enjoy it…share the love. Review. Takes two seconds. I'd love to hear your feedback.**

**Part II and therefore Damocles POV is coming up next...brace yourselves.**

**[jay-jay]**


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